BREAKING NEWS: Chet Hanks reveals Woody Harrelson's unexpected response to his basketball request – via 'obscure email'.giang

Chet Hanks attends the premiere of Netflix's "Running Point" at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on February 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California; Woody Harrelson attends HBO Special Screening of 'White House Plumbers' at U.S. Navy Memorial Theater on April 19, 2023 in Washington, DC — Chet Hanks; Woody Harrelson. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty; Paul Morigi/Getty

Chet Hanks got some tips from fellow onscreen basketball player, Woody Harrelson, before starring in Netflix’s Running Point.

While making his talk show debut on the Wednesday, March 12 episode of Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hanks, 34 — who plays Los Angeles Waves point guard Travis Bugg in Running Point — told the host he turned to Harrelson, 63, for advice before filming the series.

Hanks recalled reaching out to Matthew McConaughey, 55, in a bid to get Harrelson’s number. However, it was a while before he got a response.

“He doesn’t have a phone, which I totally respect,” Hanks explained of Harrelson, who played former college basketball player Billy Hoyle in the 1992 film White Men Can’t Jump.

“I think he said somewhere that he doesn’t want to be readily available to anybody at any point because he lives in Hawaii. He’s in Hawaii. Why would you wanna have a phone, you know? So I totally respect it,” Hanks went on.

“But he did get back to me. It was from some obscure email. You know when you get FaceTime but it’s an email, it’s not a number? It’s like an iCloud or whatever. I was like, ‘Who is this?’ He was like, ‘It’s Woody, man,’” he continued.

RUNNING POINT. Chet Hanks as Travis Bugg in Episode 106 of Running Point — Chet Hanks in ‘Running Point’.Katrina Marcinowski/Netflix

The actor, who is the son of Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks, admitted he’s “awful” at basketball, but said Harrelson was “actually really good at basketball.”

“So there wasn’t much he could tell me. He did tell me ‘just walk around with the basketball with you, when you’re going about your day-to-day,'” he told Fallon of the advice he’d been given.

“I did that a little bit, for a couple of days,” he laughed.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

FILM STILLS OF 'WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP' WITH 1992, BASKETBALL, WOODY HARRELSON, RON SHELTON, SPORT IN 1992 — Woody Harrelson in ‘White Men Can’t Jump’.Snap/Shutterstock

Hanks — who first met Fallon when he was a child on the set of the 2001 war drama Band of Brothers, which was created by his dad Tom and director Steven Spielberg — had previously told the host he wasn’t great on the basketball court.

“I’m awful. It’s actually, like, I’m a pretty athletic guy but that’s the one sport … It’s honestly pathetic. Like, watching me try to join in and play a pickup game? It’s really sad,” he insisted, joking that he “lied” to get passed the Running Point audition stage.

Chet Hanks during an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Chet Hanks on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’.Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Inspired by Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, Running Point follows Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson), who is suddenly tasked with taking over her family’s business: the Los Angeles Waves. Despite skepticism, Gordon is eager to prove that she’s the right person for the job.

The show — created by Elaine Ko, Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz and David Stassen — also stars Brenda Song, Drew Tarver, Scott MacArthur, Fabrizio Guido, Toby Sandeman, Jay Ellis and Max Greenfield.

Running Point is now streaming on Netflix.